Chapter 82:Atttack.
Chapter 82: 82:Atttack.
The rifle came up with frightening speed. Silver reacted before he could think. Years of instinct, sharpened in another world and refined in this one, took over before conscious thought could catch up.
"Down!" His voice exploded through the cabin.
Ravenna didn’t hesitate. She threw herself sideways, nearly disappearing beneath the dashboard.
Silver jerked the steering wheel. The contractor vehicle swerved violently across the cracked highway.
BOOM!
A reinforced round screamed past the driver’s window. The bullet didn’t merely shatter the side mirror, it tore it completely off, carrying twisted metal with it before disappearing into the wilderness beyond.
Fragments of glass exploded into the cabin and Silver felt several tiny cuts sting his cheek. His heart rate remained perfectly steady because training refused to let fear take control.
"Seatbelt."
Ravenna had already fastened it.
"Done."
Another shot rang.
BOOM!
This one struck the rear of the vehicle. The entire frame lurched forward. Warning lights immediately flashed across the dashboard.
*Rear Armor Integrity: 93%*
"...They’re using anti-beast ammunition."
Silver frowned. That wasn’t something ordinary highway robbers could afford. Every reinforced round costs enough to feed an ordinary family for weeks.
Whoever these people were... Money wasn’t an issue, which meant they had probably been hired. His grip tightened around the steering wheel.
"So they really came," he muttered to himself.
Silver briefly glanced behind him. The pursuing vehicle continued gaining distance. Since it was lower to the ground than theirs, it was faster and lighter, built for pursuit rather than endurance.
The man leaning out of the passenger window calmly chambered another round, his movements almost practiced and professional.
Silver recognized the look immediately. This was someone who had killed before, many times.
"Silver."
Ravenna remained crouched.
"What do we do?"
He kept his eyes on the road.
"We’ll fight later but now survival."
She nodded once without any signs of complaint or panic. She immediately reached beneath her seat and retrieved the reinforced rifle Silver had purchased the previous evening.
He had insisted she keep one within arm’s reach, now she silently appreciated his paranoia.
She pulled the charging handle.
Click.
And the magazine seated, then the safety off. She carefully raised herself just enough to look through the rear window.
"...One vehicle."
Silver nodded.
"I only see two people but they’re catching up."
"I know."
.
.
.
Behind them, inside the black pursuit vehicle, the assassin lowered his rifle with mild disappointment.
"He can drive."
The strength contractor laughed.
"A lucky dodge."
"Maybe."
The assassin wasn’t convinced. Most rookies froze but this one hadn’t, he had reacted before the rifle fired. The strength contractor noticed his silence.
"What?"
"...Nothing."
The assassin slowly loaded another magazine.
"I just have a feeling."
"What feeling?"
"...That this won’t be as easy as we were told."
The larger man snorted.
"They’re Rank One while we’re Rank Three. They’re dead already."
The assassin didn’t reply.
Instead, he watched the distance continue shrinking. His instincts had kept him alive for years and they rarely lied.
.
.
.
"Distance?" Ravenna asked.
Silver glanced at the mirrors.
"One hundred meters."
"Too close."
"I know."
She steadied the rifle.
"When I shoot... keep driving."
Silver didn’t answer immediately; instead, he smiled.
"You’ve done this before."
She gave a small shrug.
"I’ve survived."
’Fair enough’
The pursuing vehicle suddenly accelerated again, its engine roaring. The gap dropped below eighty meters, then seventy, then sixty.
The assassin calmly leaned out once more but this time, not with the rifle; instead, his body blurred.
Silver’s pupils contracted.
"Ravenna!"
She saw it too. The man had suddenly disappeared, though not completely. He moved so quickly he seemed to vanish. A yellowish tattoo lit beneath his collarbone, lines of glowing blue raced across his neck.
Speed Enhancement, it was clear it wasn’t a beast skill but a physical enhancement granted through his integrated beast.
The next instant the assassin landed on the roof of their moving vehicle.
BANG!
Metal suddenly dented inward. Ravenna’s eyes widened.
"He jumped?"
He had jumped nearly twenty meters, without hesitation or losing balance.
Silver’s expression hardened.
’This is definitely a high-ranking contractor. I just hope it’s not too high’
"Stay inside!"
He slammed the brakes but not enough to stop, just enough to throw off the man’s footing.
The assassin staggered, only briefly, then stabbed his combat knife downward. The blade pierced straight through the roof. Silver immediately jerked the wheel again and the vehicle fishtailed.
The assassin slid toward the edge.
Ravenna took her chance. She pushed open the passenger window then raised the rifle and fired.
BANG!
The assassin twisted impossibly. The round missed his head by centimeters and he actually grinned.
"Good shot."
Then vanished from the roof, landing effortlessly back onto the pursuing vehicle. Silver’s heartbeat quickened from calculation, as they passed through his mind just as fast.
The system suddenly appeared.
[Warning.]
{Host has encountered enemies exceeding current combat rating.
Estimated Enemy Threat: Rank Three Contractor.
Specializations Detected:
• Physical Enhancement
• Speed Enhancement
Recommendation: Avoid direct engagement.}
Silver almost laughed.
"I’d love to but I don’t think they’re interested," he muttered inwardly.
The pursuing vehicle suddenly rammed them from behind.
CRASH!
The entire contractor car lurched sideways as tires screamed against broken asphalt. Ravenna grabbed the dashboard to steady herself.
"They’re trying to force us off the road!" She shouted above the noise.
"I noticed."
Silver counter-steered, years of emergency driving surfaced instinctively. The vehicle barely recovered when another impact.
BANG!
This one came from the side. The strength contractor had pulled alongside them.
Silver finally got a proper look. The man was enormous, nearly two meters tall. Muscles strained against reinforced combat armor. His entire right arm glowed with beast tattoos.
A strength type contractor, exactly what Silver had feared.
The larger contractor looked through the window, smiled then lifted one hand and casually punched their door.
BOOM!
The reinforced metal caved inward. Ravenna’s eyes widened.
"...What monster is he?"
Silver answered quietly. "Someone we don’t fight head-on."
Unfortunately for them, the road ahead narrowed. It was an old bridge crossing a dry riverbed with concrete barriers lining both sides with no room to maneuver.
The strength contractor saw it too with the way his grin widened.
Silver instantly understood what they were planning.
"They’re boxing us in."
The assassin accelerated behind them. The larger contractor matched their speed beside them. One blocked escape while the other prepared to strike.
Silver’s mind raced.
If they stayed inside, the vehicle would become their coffin. If they stopped, they would lose mobility. Neither option looked appealing.
Then, his eyes caught something beyond the bridge, a collapsed section of highway. It had broken terrain, large concrete pillars, and abandoned construction equipment, a perfect place for cover. It wasn’t much, but enough to at least buy him time.
He made his decision instantly.
"Ravenna."
She looked at him.
"When I say jump... don’t hesitate."
Her expression turned serious.
"...Silver?"
He pressed the accelerator all the way down and the engine roared. The vehicle shot forward toward the collapsing bridge.
The assassin frowned.
"What is he doing?"
Even the strength contractor looked confused. Silver’s eyes never left the ruined highway ahead.
"...Three..."
The speedometer climbed.
"...Two..."
The barriers rushed toward them.
"...One..."
Silver yanked the steering wheel sharply toward the shattered edge of the bridge, and the entire vehicle left the road.